Demi Lovato sends message of support to trans community

Pop star Demi Lovato has sent a message of love and support to trans individuals following Donald Trump’s immediate attacks on the community upon taking office, according to ‘LGBTQ Nation’.

“If you are trans or nonbinary like me, please know that I see you, I feel you, I am with you,” Lovato shared in an Instagram story. “You are validated, you are loved and you are not alone. No one can take away our identities and no one can tell us who we are or aren’t. We will get through this. I love you.”

Among Trump’s first-day executive orders was one asserting that there are only two sexes, male and female, while overturning numerous pro-trans policies from former President Joe Biden. The directive urges federal agencies to use “sex” instead of “gender,” halt the interpretation of anti-discrimination laws to include transgender individuals, and issue government documents based solely on a person’s sex assigned at birth.

Trump has clearly signalled his intention to follow through on his campaign's anti-trans promises. Lovato’s message resonates with many in the trans community who fear for their future.

In 2021, Lovato announced they were nonbinary in a social media video, having previously identified as queer.

“The past year and a half, I’ve been doing some healing and self-reflective work. And through this work, I’ve had this revelation that I identify as nonbinary,” they stated in the video. “With that said, I’ll officially be changing my pronouns to they/them.”

“I feel this best represents the fluidity I experience in my gender expression and allows me to feel most authentic and true to the person I both know I am and am still discovering.”

Lovato has historically used their platform to support LGBTQ+ rights and progressive politics. In 2017, they accompanied Danica Roem, the first trans state lawmaker in the U.S.A., to the American Music Awards, praising Roem for overcoming “a lot of hate and bulls**t by people who said she couldn’t win but she did.”

After coming out as nonbinary, Lovato discussed the experience of being misgendered.

“It feels weird to me when I get called a ‘she’ or a ‘her,’” they explained. “I understand that people might have a hard time adjusting to it, because it is something new, but I want to encourage people to keep trying. I understand that it’s a process to get used to. Sometimes I still mess up myself, but it’s OK.”

Ultimately, Lovato accepted both she/her and they/them pronouns after experiencing the challenge of continually educating others.